38 Things

1. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?

They are a creamy yellow color with an embossed rosette thingy in the center. I bought them at a grocery store for dirt cheap when I was pregnant with Gabe. They have been acceptable but they are getting pretty chipped up and dingy looking over time. I have been recently dreaming of new plates. Perhaps I'll ask Santa for new daily dishes. I have no formal china.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

I recently got a library card here in the boonies (of Atlanta) and the selection was abysmal. I will need to order books inter-library loan in order to get anything decent. But I did score a Lloyd Alexander book I had never read (The Arkadians) in the Young Adult section. So, that's what I'm reading for now. Although I really only get a chance to read while nursing Peevers to sleep, so it takes a while these days to get through anything.

3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

I'm using a laptop these days. No mouse pad, just a touch pad. Which makes me completely nuts most of the time.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOARD GAME?

Hmmm. I get really crazy playing most "board games" because I am too competitive and I take it personally. I recently played a card game with my family and I really enjoyed it, once I started winning. (I can’t remember what it was called.) I don't have to win the whole game, but if I am losing overall, I can't handle it. I'm pathetic.

5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?

EW (Entertainment Weekly for the uninformed). I have subscribed to this mag for over six years, but recently had to let my subscription lapse because I am broke! I was looking up movie times today and I hadn't even heard of half the movies and I felt so out of touch with entertainment news and such, it was pitiful. EW was my guilty pleasure. Now I just read whatever trashy rag I find while waiting in the checkout line to try to get my fix.

6. FAVORITE SMELL?

Fall. Smells like leaves and dirt and wet and sweet decay. I'm a freak.

7. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL?

Pine-sol.

When I was pregnant with Quin, I had this natural bug-repellant that spilled in the back of my car and it was the most repulsive thing ever!

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?

My internal dialogue: What time is it? Are the kids up? Does Gabe need to catch the bus? Is Hubby up? What was that noise? I need to make some calls. I should try to sleep some more? I hope Peevers doesn't wake up. I need to take care of X, Y, and Z this morning before Hubby goes to work. I better get started. No sleep. Oh, forget it already. I'm freakin' up now!

9. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE?

My family. My friends. Not losing my mind.

10. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR?

I am not bigoted about colors. They all have their time and place.

11. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?

Depends on how many children are hanging off of me.

12. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?

There will be no future children. We really really wanted to name a boy Seamus and never got a chance. Maybe a dog?

13. FAVORITE SOUND?

The wind in the trees. More lulling than the ocean for me.

14. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

Does Peevers count? She is usually stuffed with breastmilk. She is an animal. Hubby is there too (yes, we sleep in the same bed again) but there is seldom any physical contact. He needs his space.

15. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT STORMS?

Thunderstorms: I love them at night, in the summer. I'm ambivalent about daytime storms. I think they are fun when it has been really hot and then I run around outside with the kids even during the thunder and lightening so they won't be afraid of storms either.

My dog, on the other hand, is a total storm freak. She will wake me up shivering before the storm is even audible to mere humans because she is such a spaz about thunderstorms.

Although I live in the South now, I am not in the reach of hurricanes and the like, so I'm not afraid of that stuff. I grew up in the midwest, so tornados intrigue me rather than frighten me.

16. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

When I was sixteen, I bought Camille, The Wild Blue Nova for 50 bucks. She was a character. She was a 1970 Chevy Nova with a seriously rusted exterior and non-existent floorboards in the rear seats. But she ran great and started no matter how cold the winters were. My friends and I spray-painted her just 'cuz we could one day and she was easy to find in any parking lot. In fact, people always knew if I was anywhere around town because my car was so instantly recognizable. No sneaking around for me.

I once ran off the road and hit a highway marker post, which flew into the air and down the embankment, but I couldn't even find a mark on Camille. She was the best. Sadly, within a year, I T-boned another car and she was towed on a flatbed. The towing company charged me $300 to get her back, so I just let them keep her. Sigh. Her engine was still running after the crash. She would have been fine. Poor Camille, consigned to the junkyard unfairly and prematurely.

17. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?

I hate this question. I can never think of somebody specific. Should I be Inspirational? (Ghandi) Hip? (Quentin Tarantino) Funny? (The Bastards who decided that Dora should scream all the time) Political? (Hilary Clinton) Esoteric? (Einstein) Philosophical? (Ayn Rand) Sentimental/Maudlin? (My dead relatives) Professional? (BJ Palmer)

About half these people would probably have a stick up their bum, so I'm gonna go with Quentin. You know you'd have fun at least. (I bet BJ Palmer would like to have cocktail and say something totally insane as well.)

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?

I'm 33. Like Jesus. That's enough personal info already, jeez!

19. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?

No. I am a spoiled princess.

20. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Anything where I get to ramble on about things I am passionate about and people actually like (and pay) to listen.

21. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Red. And I do, usually. At least when my dye job is fresh.

I always wanted hair like Nicole Kidman's before she started looking like the bleached out botoxed corpse she is today.

22. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Um, hello! Duh. Have you met Hubby? Plus the three Rugrats my life revolves around. Gotta whole lotta love.

23. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

Half full. I'm an eternal optimist.

24. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES?

So many. I love Stupid Funny (Dumb and Dumber, Old School), Darkly Funny (Donnie Darko), Cheesy (Dirty Dancing, Grease), Period/Historical (Room with a View, Pride and Prejudice [BBC Version]), Hip (Kill Bill, Vols 1 and 2) and more that I cannot think of right now.

25. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?

I mostly just use my index and pointer fingers. Its pitiful, but I still type reasonably quickly.

26. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?

Our mattress has a pillow top so we just put the mattress and box springs directly on the floor to minimize the distance Peevers will crash to the floor. As it is, Quin can barely climb up on the bed.

27. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER?

967 or 87

28. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR?

Something bad happening to my kids.

29. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.

She is always willing to try something new, no matter how scary or painful.

30. FAVORITE CD:

Puhleez. Next you'll ask me which one of my kids is my favorite.

31. FAVORITE TV SHOWS?

Um. I'll admit it. I'm a TV whore. I especially love reality TV. The best of the best would have to be The Amazing Race.

32. HAMBURGERS OR HOTDOG?

Hamburgers.

33. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK?

Whatever Hubby is drinking. I never get a soft drink for myself.

34. THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN?

Best? Best what? Without more description I will go with a sentimental favorite: Isla Mujeres, Mexico

35. SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW?

A picture of Quin dancing in our old backyard in a purple dress-up costume.

36. CATS OR DOGS?

They both have thier pros and cons, but, if pressed: dogs.

37. WHITE HOLIDAY LIGHTS OR MULTI COLORED?

White. Lots.

38. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

To mute or better yet, freeze my children. Ahhh. How cool would that be?